‘People were still smoking’: Ravenshoe café heroes say blast scene was out of horror movie

The men and women first on the scene at the Ravenshoe cafe blast in far north Queensland have spoken to 60 Minutes about those first terrible minutes following the fireball, saying the sights were ripped straight from a horror movie.

The explosion, caused by an out-of-control ute that smashed through the wall of the Serves You Right cafe and ignited a gas bottle, put 20 people in the hospital.

Two of the victims, Nicole Nyholt and Margaret Clarke, have since died, plunging the tight-knight Ravenshoe community into mourning.

After the initial explosion, locals were seen on security vision disregarding their own safety to run straight into the still-burning cafe to search for more victims, as well as helping those injured out on the street.

Among the courageous rescuers was butcher Dick Jensen, who heard the thunderous blast from across the road.

"By the time we got there some people were still smoking, there were just bits falling off them," he told 60 Minutes.